MCR Gazette / Michaelmas Week 3

It was great to see so many of you at the Matriculation Dinner this week. Remember that we’ll be having our Termly General Meeting on Wednesday (Oct 30) at 7.30pm in the MCR bar. This will be followed by hustings for the upcoming committee elections. Also, don’t forget about our Halloween Scavenger Hunt, starting at 8pm tonight (Oct 26)!

If you will be in Cambridge over the winter break, please note that the dining hall will be closed after lunch on the 24th December and re-open for lunch on Friday 3rd January. There will be a reminder sent nearer the time. The TAS office is currently closed as Rebecca takes a well-deserved break – it will re-open on November 5th. Urgent queries should be directed at your tutor or the porters.

Help our college win the Student Switch Off competition!

Our college is competing against 19 of the other Cambridge colleges this year in the Student Switch Off energy-saving campaign. As well as bragging rights we stand the chance of winning money for our summer garden party so please support the campaign by liking the Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/CambridgeSSO and posting the name of our college on the wall.

The campaign will be hosting a series of mini-competitions over the year where the colleges are ranked against each other. Students who get involved stand the chance of winning Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, formal hall tickets and Lush cosmetics so there’s loads of great stuff up for grabs for doing your bit for the environment!

Cambridge’s finest musicians in Cambridge University Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Peter Stark will perform Mozart’s playful Overture to the “Magic Flute”, followed by his Clarinet concerto with David Wong, winner of Cambridge University Music Society’s Concerto competition. Culminating in Beethoven’s groundbreaking 5th symphony, this concert is shaping up to be an evening not to be missed.

Registration
You are not required to register in advance however places are limited and will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Our event is open to final year students from all degree disciplines.

About American ExpressAmerican Express is a global service company, providing customers with exceptional access to products, insights and experiences that enrich lives and build business success. We employ more than 60,000 people across four continents and are proud to be recognised as one of the best places to work.

The Full Time Graduate Programme for undergraduate and master’s students starts in September. It’s designed to expand your business expertise while helping you to accelerate your career from day one. You will experience an 18 or 24 month programme which offer real responsibility, challenging assignments, access to senior management, networking, buddy and mentoring initiatives. We have roles available in our London office.

CURAS Beer Tasting (Oct 30)

Introductory beer tasting at The Mill featuring a wide range of beers with plenty of snacks and food included – Wednesday, October 30th from 7:30-9:30pm – £10 for non-CURAS members (£8 for current CURAS members) – 14 spots available, fill out the following form to register (people allocated a spot will be notified by email): http://tinyurl.com/Mill-tasting

International Development Documentary Screening (Nov 1)

In order to celebrate the fact that we can harness developments in information technology to serve long-term and sustainable discussion as well as to combat crises, the Cambridge Hub is decided to host this documentary series: http://www.facebook.com/events/315612955247254

This film series covers various themes, starting from the simple recognition that where you are born affects your life opportunities, through notable examples of projects using film to invoke international interest, and including an initiative launched in Cambridge itself which demonstrates the importance of the reinvigoration of the development debate.

Our first screening, The Lottery of Birth, (http://www.facebook.com/events/224721671026914) explores the relationship between freedom and power in a democratic society. Drawing together interviews with some of the world’s leading intellectuals past and present, such as Howard Zinn and Noam Chomsky, the film is a wide-ranging analysis of the mechanisms and manifestations of power. *Please note that this is the only TICKETED EVENT and tickets can be bought through our Facebook page*

After the film screening Raoul Martinez will hold a Question & Answer session to further explore the ideas his film tackles. There will be wine and refreshments!

ACS Presents CultureFest 2013 (Nov 1)

On stage for one night only, Cambridge University’s African Caribbean Society warmly invites you to our annual showcase, the HIGHLIGHT of the year, the HOTTEST show in Cambridge this term….that is, CULTUREFEST 2013!

It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from – whether if you are from Cambridge uni or elsewhere, we want this event to be as INCLUSIVE and DIVERSE as possible. There is going to be something for everyone, so buy your tickets soon!
DON’T MISS OUT!

Light refreshments will be served 7-7.45pm.
AFTERPARTY details coming soon

*Please bring a printed copy of your ticket with you to collect your wristbands on the door*

OneStart Launch Event (Nov 5)

What would you do with £100K? Launch your own innovative product? Commercialise a game changing disruptive technology? If the answer is yes to any of the above, then Welcome to OneStart! For the second year in a row the Oxbridge Biotech Roundtable has teamed up with SR One, the venture arm of GSK, to bring to you: The Worlds Largest Life-Sciences Ideas competition! Come along to our Cambridge Launch Event on November 5th at 6:30pm in Queens’ College Old Hall to hear from previous entrants, SR One representatives and from us! See more at: http://www.oxbridgebiotech.com/events/onestart-competition-launch/

Digital Connectivity in Cities: The Role of Policy (Nov 14)

Thursday, November 14, 2013 from 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM

McCrum Lecture Theatre – Corpus Christi College

Connectivity is becoming a more and more important requirement for economic activities and participation in a modern, post-industrial society. But what role should national and local government policy occupy in fostering greater connectivity?

The Future of Cities Foresight project recently launched by the Government’s Chief Scientific Officer Sir Mark Walport, is one stimulus among many which highlights the importance of cities for the UK’s future development. But policy decisions over connectivity impact on the existing disparity in economic development between London, the UK’s other core cities and the rural periphery. In which case, what is the right path for policy to encourage long-term economic development?

eSCAMPS PhD Symposium (Nov 18)

Monday 18 November 2013 | Peterhouse, Cambridge

eSCAMPS is an annual one-day conference for postgraduate students in the life science departments at the University of Cambridge and affiliated institutes. eSCAMPS provides an excellent platform for students to present and discuss their research, to meet other students from across the university and to hear talks and discussions from world leading scientists.

We are excited to be hosting three distinguished keynote speakers this year:

We will also be holding interactive workshop sessions and there will also be a panel discussion on topical issues in scientific research, featuring:

Dr Alison Woollard, upcoming Christmas lecturer for the Royal Institution

Prof James Wilsdon, Professor of Science and Democracy

and other leading experts TBC.

Generous sponsorship means registration is free to all life sciences students. Refreshments throughout the day, lunch and a drinks reception will all be provided.

Abstract submission for posters and talks is now closed. The deadline for general registration is Friday 1st November. Register early – due to limited venue capacity, a waiting list will open when all attendance spots have filled.

Please visit our website http://www.escamps.org/ and follow us on twitter @eSCAMPS_Team for more information and to register for free.

Accelerate Cambridge – Startup Weekend (Nov 22)

Startup Weekend is a global grassroots movement of active and empowered community leaders, and entrepreneurs who are learning the basics of founding startups and launching successful ventures. In the 54 hours of the start-up weekend participants develop their business idea working closely with a team, who believe in their idea. The Cambridge Start-Up Weekend, organised by Accelerate Cambridge is held at the Judge Business School is a hands-on experience where entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs can find out if their start-up ideas are viable.

We also accept applications for the Accelerate Programme, through which people from Cambridge receive entrepreneurship education, mentoring, and access to funding. We are continuously accepting applications.

Sparrho: A Bird’s Eye View Of Your Research

Have you ever discovered a journal article and wished you had read it earlier? Or are you next to present at journal club and haven’t had the time to find the paper to present?

At Sparrho, we recognise that staying on top of all relevant scientific content is still a pain. This frustration was what led a Cambridge PhD graduate to create a discovery platform that aggregates, distills, and recommends the latest information in the form of an easy to read news feed.

Add all the sources you regularly check (journals, patents, conferences, blogs, anything!), the more you add, the more comprehensive your Sparrho will be. We have a list of the existing sources our users have added and if you run into troubles adding a source, there’s a quick guide on how to add RSS feeds (a guide to adding more generic urls is coming soon).

Tell us what is relevant (love icon) or not relevant (hate icon) to you so Sparrho can learn what new releases to recommend to you in the future

Save multiple keywords (topics, protein name, authors, etc), so you can easily browse through all of them at once

By placing Sparrho as a homepage, we are able to provide a customised magazine for you. In addition, saving relevant articles to come back to at later times has never been more straight-forward.

Finding an article to discuss at a journal club or a literature review meeting is no longer a burden, let Sparrho help you keep a bird’s eye view on your science. Check it out today!

Agora: Your Cambridge Event Planner

Agora is a centralized organizing platform for MCRs, JCRs, societies, and clubs—and it’s a single, comprehensive website for finding out everything that’s going on at the University of Cambridge. Our snazzy pre-release homepage has just gone live, and we’d be excited if you’d check it out and request an invite to join! Here’s the link: